BBC Radio 4's "Open Country" last week was all about the work that Wiltshire Wildlife Trust does around human wellbeing. It was a rather inspiring 25 minutes. You can find it here.
The Trust has been running its wellbeing programme since 2008, in partnership with Wiltshire Council and the county's Public Health authorities, providing support for people suffering from mental and emotional stress. The programme is available to anyone experiencing issues such as persistent low mood, depression, anxiety, or long-term mental health conditions.
For me, the Radio 4 piece captured both the essence and spirit of the Trust's work with people whose lives are not as they would like them to be, and illustrated the benefits to be had through the wellbeing programme.
Knowing that there are difficulties in finding appropriate language to describe what the Trust is trying to achieve, I was interested in how the presenter and participants talked about what they were doing. Here's an (unsystematic) collection of the phrases that cropped up:
- in / into the landscape
- connection with country and land
- into the countryside
- involved in nature
- into the natural environment
- part of nature
- to do with the countryside
- a simple natural environment
- the most simple elements of nature
- about the countryside
- outside in nature
- connect to nature sites
- a connection with nature
- being outside
Whilst, the "countryside", "nature" and the "environment" are not the same thing, spending more time in any of them is nearly always a good idea, whoever we are. I'd sum it up like this:
– getting out of the house is the key thing
– and being with other people
– doing something active and meaningful to you
– and enjoying it
This applies to everybody, of course, not just those with mental health issues. A pity not more people know this, as it can be remarkably cost-effective. Just off outside ...
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